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<DIV>There is a condition known commonly as "night terrors," which is more
widespread than previously thought, and is now considered to be related to a
type of&nbsp;sleep apnea (sleep apnea&nbsp;in turn is linked to higher risk of
heart attack).&nbsp; Anyone suffering from this particular type of 'waking
nightmare' would likely have been known to suffer from them, and a subsequent
death in the night could easily be attributed to that, even if not directly
caused by the episode.&nbsp; </DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>The episodes are incredibly terrifying though, enough to cause severe
emotional reactions which would be well known by family members.</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>So&nbsp;obviously not literally death from a nightmare, but in the eyes of
people who were aware of the deceased suffered in this way, maybe it would seem
a possible explanation, rightly or wrongly,&nbsp;if the individual died during
the night.&nbsp; Literally people act as if they are frightened to death, and
report that they thought they were going to die.</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>interesting cause of death to have on the family tree though!</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>Larry</DIV></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=raybeere@yahoo.com href="mailto:raybeere@yahoo.com">Ray Beere Johnson
II</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=jejoyce@sbcglobal.net
href="mailto:jejoyce@sbcglobal.net">Janey Joyce</A> ; <A
title=apgpubliclist@apgen.org href="mailto:apgpubliclist@apgen.org">APG
Posting</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, September 24, 2010 8:22
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [APG Public List] Cause of
death question</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Janey;<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Three
thoughts.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; First, I suspect the most likely
interpretation of this phrase would be that he had a nightmare which
frightened him to death (terror brought on a heart attack, for example). There
were certainly theories like this floating around throughout the nineteenth
century (the eighteen hundreds). And, of course, this type of death was a
cliche in fiction by then.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Second, although the
literal idea of "death by nightmare" was not a mainstream medical concept in
1853, the word nightmare comes from the folkloric belief that such a dream was
caused by a literal visit from a type of spectral mare. And there was
certainly folklore which persisted to around this period or later which warned
that the night mare would try to smother you. If it was a small town, and an
eccentric doctor, or even one who had only the training common at the time,
which was to serve for a time as "apprentice" (this was not what it was
usually formally called) to a doctor, he might have considered this a valid
cause of death. If the doctor was trained in any of the medical colleges that
then existed, probably not - unless he was _very_ eccentric.
:-)<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In fact, this is something we often forget in
our research. Older beliefs survived in some places even as they died out in
most areas. Individuals clung to practices ridiculed by everyone else. Once an
idea or practice was conceived of, we can never entirely rule it out, even
after it has gone out of fashion. (I'm speaking of information generated by
individuals, of course, not data derived from standard, specified
categories.)<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Third, given the popularity of this
conceit in literature, it is also possible that your article drew its "facts"
from the fevered imagination of the reporter or editor. You don't mention much
about the newspaper where you found this. Whenever a newspaper account seems
especially odd, it is worthwhile to look through a number of issues, just to
see what's normal for that paper. We also forget that in those days,
newspapers were often owned, and their content written or controlled, by
individuals. As a result, most papers had their own
"personalities".<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If the paper seems given to
printing a lot of lurid speculation, I'd imagine that is the explanation. If
this item seems unusual - even for the paper it appears in - then I'd assume
either the conclusion comes from the doctor, or the circumstances of this
man's death really were striking and odd. Perhaps both. A doctor who wouldn't
normally leap to such a conclusion might do so if faced with an especially
bizarre
situation.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Ray Beere Johnson II<BR><BR>--- On Fri, 9/24/10, Janey Joyce &lt;<A
href="mailto:jejoyce@sbcglobal.net">jejoyce@sbcglobal.net</A>&gt;
wrote:<BR><BR>&gt; Hope one of you can solve this mystery.<BR>&gt; <BR>&gt; I
have found an ancestor's "sudden death" notice published in a <BR>&gt;
Wisconsin newspaper in 1853 that says: "It is supposed he died of a<BR>&gt;
night-mare." I know nightmares can be terrifying, but I am not aware of
<BR>&gt; anyone actually perishing as the result of one. <BR>&gt; <BR>&gt;
Does anyone know if nightmares could have really been considered a cause
<BR>&gt; of death back in the 1850s?<BR><BR><BR><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>